SAN JOSE — Before he officially arrives in San Jose, Erik Karlsson felt he needed to introduce himself to the team’s fans.

Karlsson, acquired from the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, delivered a message to Sharks fans Saturday morning on the team’s Twitter account.

“Hello, San Jose. I’m Erik Karlsson, and I’m your newest member,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out to Sharks territory, and I’m super excited to see all of you on opening night at the Shark Tank. See you there.”

It’s unclear when Karlsson, a Swedish citizen, will be able to get the necessary documentation to officially come to the United States. If the case of Jannik Hansen is any indication, it could be at least another few days.

Karlsson is in a unique situation in that he’s a Swedish citizen — or a third country national — who is trying to move from Canada to the United States for work.

That comes with some complications. Hansen, a Danish citizen, was in the same situation when the Sharks acquired him from Vancouver at the 2017 trade deadline.

Joe Kirkwood, a San Diego-based immigration lawyer who has worked with several NHL teams, said at the time it can take a week to 10 days for non-Canadian players such as Hansen to get the proper clearance from U.S. Immigration Service.

The Sharks traded for Hansen on Feb. 28, 2017. He didn’t first practice with the team until March 8.

Ideally, Karlsson would be able to play in at least one or two preseason games at SAP Center before their regular season opener at home on Oct. 3 against the Anaheim Ducks.

After Tuesday, the Sharks play in Anaheim on Thursday and are back at home against Vegas on Saturday. The Sharks play at Calgary on Sept. 25, are back at home against the Flames on Sept. 27, then close the preseason Sept. 30 in Las Vegas.

Curtis Pashelka is the San Jose Sharks reporter for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to covering the Sharks, Curtis served as the high school sports editor for the East Bay. He also worked as a general assignment reporter covering motorsports, golf and college basketball, and as a backup writer on the A's, Giants and Warriors. He started at the organization in 2000 and spent close to eight years covering high school sports.